Rear speaker problem fix! FINALLY!!!

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snoboarder071

Member
May 27, 2011
37
37
Milwaukee
I know there are thousands of people looking all over the web for a solution to their captivate's rear speaker cutting out and I am happy to report I have a solution for you! I searched all over these forums, all over google, and by the grace of God I somehow found this suggestion in a comment on a pointless YouTube video with around only a thousand views. But whatever! Here it is...

  • Take off the back casing of your phone (it's not too difficult; here are the instructions http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=740022)
  • Once you have the back all opened up you should see one lone screw remaining just to the left of the speaker
  • Loosen the screw

That's it!!!!!!!! The guys' comment on YouTube said he noticed the screw was in so tight that that it was bending the circuit board and messing up the connection. Which makes sense to me because earlier I noticed that pushing down on the right side of the speaker (on the opposite side of the screw) seemed to help better than pushing anywhere else.

So stop listening to all the threads that say "just push on the speaker" or "get it repaired" or "just deal with it." I had jammed stuff in behind my back cover that was so thick it started to bend the metal, but it was always just a temporary fix. No pressure was ever enough pressure to get the speaker consistently working. Who knew the answer would be less pressure? Or that it would be so simple...

Now go fix your phone and enjoy!
:):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)



UPDATE: If you are still having problems, try mithileshpatel007's fix from page two of this thread. Sounds like people have had luck with his method too. He suggests repositioning the speaker ribbon. The ribbon is located on the far right and can be seen going from the bottom of the speaker housing to a small terminal that may be covered by a piece of blue tape. Everything is so tiny that it sort of all looks like one piece but what you can do is...
  • flip up a tiny black latch (bottom of the terminal)
  • reposition or remove + replace the ribbon (enters at the top of the terminal). There isn't much slack, but try to get it as far in there as possible

PLEASE BE CAREFUL! The ribbon is tiny and pretty stiff and some people have reported problems just getting their phone open, much less playing around. Remember this is a tiny device made to do big things so it's not as durable as your GameBoy Color! :) Handle with care.
 
Last edited:

snoboarder071

Member
May 27, 2011
37
37
Milwaukee
Clarification

I should clarify. I loosened the screw till it was coming out and then tightened it VERY gently. I screwed it back in and stopped at the first feel of resistance. I did this last night and have been blasting music and getting notifications without any problem since.
 
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bulletproof1013

Senior Member
Dec 11, 2008
907
78
Check back in a day or two. A couple hours of a fixed speaker doesn't impress me...been there done that. But I did fix mine tho.

Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium
 
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astroZ0MB1E

Member
Nov 16, 2011
32
12
Thanks for this info. My speaker just started acting up the other day. I pushed on it like others have said to, and so far it has been good for a couple of days now. If it so much as acts like it is going to do this again, I will take the above steps.

Thanks!
 

snoboarder071

Member
May 27, 2011
37
37
Milwaukee
Check back in a day or two. A couple hours of a fixed speaker doesn't impress me...been there done that. But I did fix mine tho.

Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium

My speaker is still working great. I understand the skepticism but I wanted to put the post up right away because 1) the fix made so much sense to me, 2) my speaker was ALWAYS cutting out before I did it and NEVER cut out after, and 3) I wanted to help as many people as soon as possible because I know how maddening this problem is!

How did you fix yours? And by the way, impressing you was never my goal ;)
 
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danbarnett

New member
Dec 2, 2011
1
0
Works!

Thanks for this suggestion! I've been fighting this problem for months now and the tap-tap-push method only ever fixed the problem for a few minutes. Since trying your "fix" my speaker has worked for 2 days now!
 

bulletproof1013

Senior Member
Dec 11, 2008
907
78
My speaker is still working great. I understand the skepticism but I wanted to put the post up right away because 1) the fix made so much sense to me, 2) my speaker was ALWAYS cutting out before I did it and NEVER cut out after, and 3) I wanted to help as many people as soon as possible because I know how maddening this problem is!

How did you fix yours? And by the way, impressing you was never my goal ;)

Lol

Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium
 

gstern

Senior Member
Mar 8, 2011
79
7
Finally!!!

no more being late for work because the alarm didn't sound!:D
 

matt868686

Member
Dec 20, 2010
14
3
so far so good! before the fix my captivate had sound maybe 5% of the time. hasn't cut out yet since loosening that pesky screw!

thanks!
 

mithileshpatel007

New member
Dec 11, 2011
3
12
For those of you who do not have warranty or insurance, there is a fix for this.
I just got done with re assembling the phone after a fix I performed. It is real easy to do.

Things you need:
-A screwdriver (whatever the size is when you open the back cover, the four screws you see, that size)
-A small flat head screwdriver if you have one (not necessary but would help)
-Patience and some common sense.

Ok, to start off follow these steps http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=740022 to open the first 6 screws and then how to pop open the screen from the bezel(this is when a flat head screwdriver would be useful).
(go just to the step till the fifth picture in that thread, no need to go beyond that opening things!)

Now, you would see a screw on the left of the speaker. Now, other threads said that by loosening that screw the speaker would work. But, I did that and still had issues so I opened the phone like 4 times in total before I found out what it was. Now, notice that the speaker unit has a cable (orange colored) running into the main phone chip. It is connected there through which it functions. When you open that above mentioned thread to open the phone there is a picture showing to remove the that belt from the board. Follow that instructions, flip that tiny black clip up to remove the belt. In some cases there might be a blue sticker kind of thing on the belt, just take off that sticker. The problem seems that the belt is loosing contact which doesn't allow the speaker to get the sound input to put out sound through the speaker. So, take off the belt by flipping that switch and re insert it out there. Try to push it in properly or enough to align a white line on the belt and the chip. There is a white line to guide us there. That line should be totally straight when the belt is inserted appropriately. And now, flip that clip down and lock it. If you have loosened the screw left to the speaker, put it back in in normal force not excessive(no need to be more gentle here). You cannot leave it loose because it makes the whole unit move when it is loose eventually pulling off the belt from its place which causes the sound cut outs. The whole trick is to get the belt right in its place. So, make sure it is tight but not extra tight after you have managed to get the belt right. Put everything back together and now when you screw the last 6 screws again, the one in the top speaker corner affects the speaker unit, so don't push it too hard in. Just normal screwing. The rest should be done properly with normal force. This should solve it. I figured this out after opening the phone 4 times. And now playing songs since the past 6 hours non stop and its back in action again!

For all this, i did put in the battery and start the phone when I had opened it and tried messing around and figured out what was killing the sound, so this should be the ultimate solution to it. There is nothing else that can be affecting it now.
Most people must had faced this because they dropped their phones before which made the belt to move and hence the loose contacts inside. If not then, there are high chances that you bought it from someone or somewhere who had dropped it before!

Well that's it! Also, don't freak out in having to open the phone. You should just go to the step till the fifth picture. Which is very easily achievable!

Go, have fun with your WORKING speakers now! :)
 

gitah

Member
Aug 24, 2011
33
1
I tried to open my Cappy but failed a unscrewing the middle screws...they are soo tight :(
 

breezeli

Senior Member
Feb 14, 2010
192
57
Massapequa, NY
My problem is that the ribbon cable between the speaker and the board is too short. No way to line that white stripe up. Got it in there as best I could and so far so good
 

erad1

Senior Member
Dec 3, 2010
1,422
776
MiamiBeach
OnePlus 6
I'm just guessing... but I would think that because this could possibly void a warranty is the only reason they don't make this a sticky, but it really should be...nice find and much appreciated. It is a common and very annoying problem and this fix really does seem to work!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I777 using XDA App
 

x.SkiTzO.x

Member
Nov 14, 2011
13
1
Canadian Lakes, MI
Rear Speaker Fix - Thanks for the advice!

Just successfully disassembled my wife's phone without busting it into 1 million pieces. I loosened that screw next to the speaker, tightened just until i felt it start to grab, backed it off 1/16th of a turn, and the speaker works now. Great job on hunting down that video.

-Word of advice, The screw your loosening on the speaker housing is also the screw that holds the motherboard secure. I would recommend not removing the screw. The Captivate may self destruct if you do so. ;)

10 out of 10 HERE! THUMBS UP!

Thanks.

______________________
Samsung Captivate i897
Firmware: Gingerbread 2.3.5
Baseband: I897UCKK4
Kernal: 2.6.35.7-I897UCKK2-CL614489
BUILD: GINGERBREAD.UCKK4
 
Last edited:

RCDuke

Senior Member
Jun 19, 2011
224
50
Nexus 7 (2013)
Google Pixel 2 XL
So I attempted this fix, considering I had no sound from the speaker at all.

I managed to somehow break the black connector flap that holds the ribbon cable in off of the connector. Now the speaker has no connection whatsoever, and now I don't have the vibrate function as well. (The speaker and vibrating motor are in the same assembly.)

Just a word to the wise. (I think I had actually broken my speaker, because I could get no sound at all, even before I broke the connector.)
 

storm_rider_1

Senior Member
Nov 5, 2011
231
90
Brainerd lakes Area
For those of you who do not have warranty or insurance, there is a fix for this.
I just got done with re assembling the phone after a fix I performed. It is real easy to do.

Things you need:
-A screwdriver (whatever the size is when you open the back cover, the four screws you see, that size)
-A small flat head screwdriver if you have one (not necessary but would help)
-Patience and some common sense.

Ok, to start off follow these steps http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=740022 to open the first 6 screws and then how to pop open the screen from the bezel(this is when a flat head screwdriver would be useful).
(go just to the step till the fifth picture in that thread, no need to go beyond that opening things!)

Now, you would see a screw on the left of the speaker. Now, other threads said that by loosening that screw the speaker would work. But, I did that and still had issues so I opened the phone like 4 times in total before I found out what it was. Now, notice that the speaker unit has a cable (orange colored) running into the main phone chip. It is connected there through which it functions. When you open that above mentioned thread to open the phone there is a picture showing to remove the that belt from the board. Follow that instructions, flip that tiny black clip up to remove the belt. In some cases there might be a blue sticker kind of thing on the belt, just take off that sticker. The problem seems that the belt is loosing contact which doesn't allow the speaker to get the sound input to put out sound through the speaker. So, take off the belt by flipping that switch and re insert it out there. Try to push it in properly or enough to align a white line on the belt and the chip. There is a white line to guide us there. That line should be totally straight when the belt is inserted appropriately. And now, flip that clip down and lock it. If you have loosened the screw left to the speaker, put it back in in normal force not excessive(no need to be more gentle here). You cannot leave it loose because it makes the whole unit move when it is loose eventually pulling off the belt from its place which causes the sound cut outs. The whole trick is to get the belt right in its place. So, make sure it is tight but not extra tight after you have managed to get the belt right. Put everything back together and now when you screw the last 6 screws again, the one in the top speaker corner affects the speaker unit, so don't push it too hard in. Just normal screwing. The rest should be done properly with normal force. This should solve it. I figured this out after opening the phone 4 times. And now playing songs since the past 6 hours non stop and its back in action again!

For all this, i did put in the battery and start the phone when I had opened it and tried messing around and figured out what was killing the sound, so this should be the ultimate solution to it. There is nothing else that can be affecting it now.
Most people must had faced this because they dropped their phones before which made the belt to move and hence the loose contacts inside. If not then, there are high chances that you bought it from someone or somewhere who had dropped it before!

Well that's it! Also, don't freak out in having to open the phone. You should just go to the step till the fifth picture. Which is very easily achievable!

Go, have fun with your WORKING speakers now! :)


This worked on mine, thank you!!!
 
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  • 33
    I know there are thousands of people looking all over the web for a solution to their captivate's rear speaker cutting out and I am happy to report I have a solution for you! I searched all over these forums, all over google, and by the grace of God I somehow found this suggestion in a comment on a pointless YouTube video with around only a thousand views. But whatever! Here it is...

    • Take off the back casing of your phone (it's not too difficult; here are the instructions http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=740022)
    • Once you have the back all opened up you should see one lone screw remaining just to the left of the speaker
    • Loosen the screw

    That's it!!!!!!!! The guys' comment on YouTube said he noticed the screw was in so tight that that it was bending the circuit board and messing up the connection. Which makes sense to me because earlier I noticed that pushing down on the right side of the speaker (on the opposite side of the screw) seemed to help better than pushing anywhere else.

    So stop listening to all the threads that say "just push on the speaker" or "get it repaired" or "just deal with it." I had jammed stuff in behind my back cover that was so thick it started to bend the metal, but it was always just a temporary fix. No pressure was ever enough pressure to get the speaker consistently working. Who knew the answer would be less pressure? Or that it would be so simple...

    Now go fix your phone and enjoy!
    :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)



    UPDATE: If you are still having problems, try mithileshpatel007's fix from page two of this thread. Sounds like people have had luck with his method too. He suggests repositioning the speaker ribbon. The ribbon is located on the far right and can be seen going from the bottom of the speaker housing to a small terminal that may be covered by a piece of blue tape. Everything is so tiny that it sort of all looks like one piece but what you can do is...
    • flip up a tiny black latch (bottom of the terminal)
    • reposition or remove + replace the ribbon (enters at the top of the terminal). There isn't much slack, but try to get it as far in there as possible

    PLEASE BE CAREFUL! The ribbon is tiny and pretty stiff and some people have reported problems just getting their phone open, much less playing around. Remember this is a tiny device made to do big things so it's not as durable as your GameBoy Color! :) Handle with care.
    9
    For those of you who do not have warranty or insurance, there is a fix for this.
    I just got done with re assembling the phone after a fix I performed. It is real easy to do.

    Things you need:
    -A screwdriver (whatever the size is when you open the back cover, the four screws you see, that size)
    -A small flat head screwdriver if you have one (not necessary but would help)
    -Patience and some common sense.

    Ok, to start off follow these steps http://xdaforums.com/showthread.php?t=740022 to open the first 6 screws and then how to pop open the screen from the bezel(this is when a flat head screwdriver would be useful).
    (go just to the step till the fifth picture in that thread, no need to go beyond that opening things!)

    Now, you would see a screw on the left of the speaker. Now, other threads said that by loosening that screw the speaker would work. But, I did that and still had issues so I opened the phone like 4 times in total before I found out what it was. Now, notice that the speaker unit has a cable (orange colored) running into the main phone chip. It is connected there through which it functions. When you open that above mentioned thread to open the phone there is a picture showing to remove the that belt from the board. Follow that instructions, flip that tiny black clip up to remove the belt. In some cases there might be a blue sticker kind of thing on the belt, just take off that sticker. The problem seems that the belt is loosing contact which doesn't allow the speaker to get the sound input to put out sound through the speaker. So, take off the belt by flipping that switch and re insert it out there. Try to push it in properly or enough to align a white line on the belt and the chip. There is a white line to guide us there. That line should be totally straight when the belt is inserted appropriately. And now, flip that clip down and lock it. If you have loosened the screw left to the speaker, put it back in in normal force not excessive(no need to be more gentle here). You cannot leave it loose because it makes the whole unit move when it is loose eventually pulling off the belt from its place which causes the sound cut outs. The whole trick is to get the belt right in its place. So, make sure it is tight but not extra tight after you have managed to get the belt right. Put everything back together and now when you screw the last 6 screws again, the one in the top speaker corner affects the speaker unit, so don't push it too hard in. Just normal screwing. The rest should be done properly with normal force. This should solve it. I figured this out after opening the phone 4 times. And now playing songs since the past 6 hours non stop and its back in action again!

    For all this, i did put in the battery and start the phone when I had opened it and tried messing around and figured out what was killing the sound, so this should be the ultimate solution to it. There is nothing else that can be affecting it now.
    Most people must had faced this because they dropped their phones before which made the belt to move and hence the loose contacts inside. If not then, there are high chances that you bought it from someone or somewhere who had dropped it before!

    Well that's it! Also, don't freak out in having to open the phone. You should just go to the step till the fifth picture. Which is very easily achievable!

    Go, have fun with your WORKING speakers now! :)
    3
    Can somebody help me with getting the ribbon out?... I am not able to get the ribbon out :( ..

    Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

    I pulled the speaker/vibration component up from the right side after removing the screw. The component is attached to the mainboard by little tabs that snap into place. Pulling up from the right (top right as to not overly stress the ribbon) gently should dislodge the component. ....The ribbon is held in the seat by the little clip on the opposite end of where the ribbon goes in. Flip up the clip (it is hinged) gently using a fingernail or similar. That will free the ribbon. ..Then just reinsert the ribbon and keep slight pressure on it while pushing the clip back down into place.

    It worked for me on a few cappys.
    3
    The Foundling and our JOURNEY

    It was a dewy July morning in 2011 when I found this Captivate SGH-I896 laying in the grass. Poor thing...I had to find its owner. I went to the Rogers store, reluctantly putting the foundling in their hands. They asked me to wait and they searched. "'Nothing we can do. It's all yours."
    And so our JOURNEY began. (What is this lovely thing and how does it work?)
    Google...YouTube...more Google...and xda? I kept ending up at this xda site.
    I've been lurking here for nearly a year, so here I am - a new member...and a NOOB. Nope, I don't hate myself, in fact I'm quite proud of myself for learning so much about this android, how it works and best of all - fixing it.
    We've been through a lot together, from Froyo to Gingerbread, from bootloops and shutting down to just fine. Yesterday? I took my precious apart and fixed the speaker. It's not always a bad thing, to have a screw lose!
    A huge thank-you to all of you here at xda and guiding me on this incredible journey. (Who knows how far it will take me?) :victory:
    2
    Check back in a day or two. A couple hours of a fixed speaker doesn't impress me...been there done that. But I did fix mine tho.

    Sent from my SGH-I897 using xda premium